Butternut Squash Risotto with Roasted Hazelnuts

I'd like to think I'm not the only vegetarian who can do without faux-birds during the holiday season.  I've actually grown to detest any prepackaged mass claiming to either taste similar to or, in some beguiled marketing disaster, better than the real mccoy.  I've overheard many an anarcho-eco-vegaholic spout off about the benefits of a vegan diet while filling their shopping cart or stuffing their face with some greasy, rubbery, tasteless slab of hypocrisy wrapped individually for our convenience, lacking, if not completely void of nutrition.

I'll admit, in those early years of becoming vegetarian I purchased, shared and thoroughly enjoyed one or more of those boxed "cruelty-free" roasts.  In most cases I would take one or two of the smaller slices of said roast, drizzle some mushroom gravy, then surround the meager helping with copious amounts of freshly mashed potatoes, casseroles, assorted roasted vegetables and heavy helpings of homemade desserts, all things that recall pleasant moments from Thanksgivings past.  I've never been much a fan of mock meats and while those holiday substitute turkeys tend to be the (soy)cream of the crop, in no way do they resemble poultry in taste or texture.  After a couple years, however, they did provide that much needed staple food to signify that Thanksgiving had indeed arrived.  I have many fond memories from those holidays I shared with friends and family that I wouldn't trade for anything but for now I would like to encourage anyone reading this to pass on that frozen faux-fowl this year and opt for something equally if not a more autumn inspired dish that I hope will impress all that partake.

For the past few years I've relied on butternut squash as my go-to vegetable for a hearty main dish.  Risotto is surprisingly easy and incredibly versatile, although in any traditional recipe I guarantee any one of a variety of hard italian cheeses will be called for.  Fortunately, it's a rather small amount that can be omitted while having relatively no impact on the outcome and in this recipe the squash actually contributes to the creamy texture.  Here's what you need:

1 small butternut squash
1 1/2 cups arborio rice, or any "risotto" rice
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups vegetable stock
1 onion
1/3 cup crumbled roasted hazelnuts
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
oil (I prefer coconut, but olive oil is good too)
2 Tbsp minced sage leaves
salt and pepper


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.


First, take your biggest nice and carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp, save the seeds and roast like you would pumpkin seeds for snacks or garnishing this dish.  Take one half of the squash and rub it with oil.  Roast in the oven for roughly 45 minutes or longer, until the squash is browning and a knife can be easily inserted into the deepest part of the squash.  When cooled, mash or puree the squash and set aside.  Take the other half of the squash, peel and dice into half inch pieces.  Toss with oil and roast for 12-15 minutes, turning the pieces about 8 minutes in, until the corners start caramelizing and set aside.


Bring the vegetable stock to a low simmer, you'll be adding the warm stock in small quantities to the rice.


Dice the onion and over medium-low heat start sweating the onions in 2 tbsp of oil in a large pot, add about half a teaspoon of salt.  When the onions are translucent add the rice and stir, making sure all the rice is coated in oil.  After a minute or two the grains of rice will become clear around the outsides, this is where it become a bit of a chore.  Add the wine and start stirring, you're going to need to stay near the pot for the rest of the cooking time, roughly 30 minutes.  You're going to want the rice to start absorbing all the liquid very slowly, as the rice absorbs liquid it will release starch, thus creating the creamy texture we're hoping to achieve.  Stir the rice frequently, constantly if you can, making sure no rice is sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.  If any of the grains are browning, your heat is too high, lower the heat!  When the wine is absorbed, add about a cup of the simmering stock to the rice and start stirring again.  When the rice has absorbed the stock, add another cup of stock.  Continue adding stock until the rice is tender, as the pot's contents increase you may need to adjust your heat a bit, turning it ever so slightly higher.  When the risotto has reached the right texture add one last installment of stock, the squash puree and pieces, nuts, ginger, sage, and any more salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in all the ingredients until everything is well incorporated.  Serve immediately, garnish with more nuts or sage if you'd like, and maybe some really nice olive oil.

This year I made the risotto with chestnuts rather than hazelnuts, but I think I prefer my original plan of action.  I may try adding more spices and making a curried butternut squash risotto.  This dish loses it's creamy texture quickly, so if you happen to be making a lot of other dishes, are planning on taking this to a potluck, or just aren't able to serve the risotto immediately I might suggest preparing it the night before, then on the big day form balls or patties with the rice, coat them in breadcrumbs and pan fry (or bake, but really, not nearly as good) until the crust is golden.  I know this recipe is a little late for Thanksgiving 2010, but this dish is quite easily made any night of the week, and there's also another holiday creeping up which would be perfect for risotto as well.  Thanks for reading!  I was busy cooking all day and wasn't really able to get any photos, but there was a couple cameras floating around that evening so hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures of the feast we compiled.

Polenta and Leeks with a Mushroom Ragout

This weekend we had the pleasure of hosting our friend Joe Gocong.  Joe contributed quite a bit to the projects of the household in the past few days, and after 2 solid days of soundproofing our garage he was adamant about rewarding everyone's hard work.  Joe has a strong reputation for crafting a fine pizza pie, and he was excited to share his talent.  Regrettably I was not to be found amongst the gorging.  Chewing has become rather trying since starting my braces treatment on Thursday.

I could not sit back and let my jealousy stew, instead I took some regional inspiration from Joe's plan and picked up something from Ye Olde Whole Foods I would be able savor without the aid of pain killers.  I returned home with some coarse cornmeal and a bottle of my favorite relatively inexpensive Cabernet.  Luckily, like pasta and risotto, polenta leaves itself open for the addition of a multitude of ingredients.  When making this dish in the past I've used the red wine to braise torpedo onions and fennel, which I would definitely suggest trying, but I had a handful of cremini mushrooms hanging out in the fridge that needed some attention.  The mushrooms could have held their own in the ragout, but I had some sweet little sunburst tomatoes that I dried a few months ago while they were in abundance so I could carry their divine flavor into my winter dishes, and I was pretty pumped to try them out.  These are the results:

Polenta

1 1/2 cups polenta, or coarse cormeal

1 cup sliced leeks

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

a couple heavy pinches of salt

pepper

Bring the broth to a boil and reduce to a simmer in a small saucepan.  In a large pot heat the oil over medium-low heat.  Add the leeks and the salt, stirring occasionally for about ten minutes until soft but not browned.  Add the water and bring to a boil.  Add the polenta slowly while stirring to avoid clumps.  Reduce the heat to a slow simmer.  When the water is absorbed start ladling in small amounts of broth at a time, letting each ladleful absorb before adding another and stir, a lot, until the polenta is soft and creamy.  If it looks a little dry just add a little more water, or maybe some cashew milk if you feel so inclined.  Season with pepper and more salt if desired.

Ragout

3 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup dried tomatoes (or one cup fresh cherry tomatoes sliced in half)

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1 cup dry red wine

1 1/2 t dry thyme

Salt and Pepper

2 T Olive Oil

Saute the mushrooms in oil with some salt in a large skillet over medium heat until the mushrooms have given up their moisture and are starting to brown.  Add the garlic and onions and saute until the onions are soft and then add the tomatoes, thyme, pepper and wine.  Reduce the wine until saucy consistency has formed. 

Plate the polenta and serve the ragout over top.  I sprinkled micro-basil over the ragout which added some really mild, earthy subtlety.  In addition to the basil, the arugula salad offered some color the plate was begging for.  Joe contributed all the photos.  He's leaps and bounds ahead of my grasp on my own camera.  I'd like to revisit this dish and alter the finished product, but considering the condition of my gums this was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Autumn in San Diego reminds me how much I miss living in the midwest.  

While composing this first entry in my new blog I am currently visiting friends in Chicago, where the air is crisp, the sidewalks are littered with an array of crimson and gold, and the inspiration for anything containing winter squash is annoyingly cliche.  However, who doesn't appreciate a good pumpkin pie recipe?  This particular pie was adapted from a recipe at www.joyofbaking.com, which called for a gingersnap/pecan layer between the pumpkin filling and the crust, I used walnuts instead but trust me, it's better.  I also roasted my own pumpkin, canned pumpkin works just as well (and is probably cheaper and definitely less time consuming) but I would still suggest roasting your own if you can and pureeing it in a food processor.  I feel the need to stress that this was my first attempt at a pumpkin pie and decided to not stray too far away from the traditional ingredients, but I must say that this is one damn good vegan dessert.

First, set your oven to 350 F

Crust

3/4 c all purpose flour

1/2 c wheat flour

1/2 t salt

1 T white sugar

1/2 c vegetable shortening (i like the ones made from palm fruit oil, non hydrogenated)

1/8 c ice water

Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined.  Add shortening in pieces to the flour mixture and pulse together until all the large pieces of shortening are almost fully integrated.  Drizzle in water while the food processor is on, everything should combine fairly quick but if the dough looks too dry add a little more water.

Take your dough and form it into a ball on a countertop, cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Dust your countertop (or a flexible cutting board, preferably)  with just a bit of flour, take out your dough ball and flatten with your hands into a disc.  Then start rolling out your dough, picking up the mass and turning it a 1/4 turn with each roll (if you don't do this it will stick to whatever surface you're rolling the dough on and will break apart and will be incredibly discouraging).  Roll to an even thickness, I prefer something around 1/8 of an inch or so.  Take the pie pan and lay it on top of the dough, then flip over the pan, dough and cutting board (if you don't have the flexible cutting board you can lift up the dough and put it in the pan, just pinch the cracks back together).  Press the dough into the bottom of the pan and trim off the excess, form into another mass, roll out the dough and cut into decorative shapes that will thoroughly impress your buddies.  Wrap in plastic and put back in the refrigerator for at least another 30 minutes.

Walnut/Gingersnap Layer

1/4 c walnuts

1/4 c broken gingersnap cookies (I like Mary's Gone Crackers Gluten Free Gingersnap Cookies)

Toast Walnuts in a hot pan until aromatic.  Pulse Cookies/Nuts in a food processor until a coarse mixture is formed.  Press evenly into the crust and then return to the refrigerator while you make the pumpkin filling.

Pumpkin Filling

1 15oz can pumpkin puree (I roasted two small sugar pumpkins and that came out to be just enough)

1/4 c apple sauce

1/4 c Artisana Coconut Butter (softened)

1/2 c So Delicious Coconut Milk Kefir, or homemade cashew cream

1/2 c light brown sugar

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground ginger

1/8 t ground cloves

1/2 t sea salt

Whisk all the ingredients together, use an electric hand mixer, or pull that food processor back out for a third time and puree everything together.  Pour into the chilled pie crust, bake for 45-55 minutes or until a knife inserted about an inch away from the edge comes out clean (the center might still look wet, really, it's ok).  Let the pie come to room temperature and serve with So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, or maybe a homemade vegan maple ice cream if you feel like going through the extra work and plan that far ahead.  I also rolled out that extra dough and cut a maple leaf, then brushed it with maple syrup and baked it in the oven until it had started to brown then meticulously garnished the my masterpiece.

This is how the pie came out.  I can promise you it tasted like perfection and I am quite proud to christen my new blog with this recipe.  Thanks for reading and please tell me if you try it out, nothing would tickle me more.